Lymph Node Metastasis of Head and Neck Cancer: A Bibliometric Analysis From 2000 to 2022

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a significant prognostic factor in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. To obtain a better understanding of the worldwide prevalence and current research status, the authors conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of literature published from 2000 to 2022. The contributions of institutions, journals, countries or regions, cited literature, keywords, and authors in global publications were concisely summarized using the COOC and VosViewer software tools. The data were extracted from the expansive Web of Science database. A total of 5478 papers were collected for analysis, and the number of publications has exhibited exponential growth over the last 22 years. The United States emerged as the most productive country, closely followed by China. Noteworthy institutions for their high productivity include the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Head & Neck and Oral Oncology journals lead in terms of publication volume. The main areas of research in this field were prognostication, radiotherapy, survival rates, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and the human papillomavirus. In addition, the analysis of author collaboration networks yielded valuable insights into the collaborative relationships within this research domain. Our research has identified the primary characteristics of highly impactful studies on LNM in HNC, providing significant insights into the advancements made in this area of research.